A Prince, A Curse, and One Solution: A Girl
by Krystalslazz
Summary: 'Out of what seemed like nowhere, three mermen armed with tridents ambushed the lone mermaid. Bella did not stand a chance.' When Bella is captured and taken to an invisible underwater kingdom, she has no idea what is in store for her. What are the mysterious Prince's intentions? What does Bella have to do with the solution of the kingdom's curse? [In Progress] Rated T
1. Chapter 1

**A Prince, A Curse and One Solution: A Girl**

******Disclaimer: _I do not own H2O Just Add Water_**

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_'Out of what seemed like nowhere, three mermen armed with tridents ambushed the lone mermaid. Bella did not stand a chance.' When Bella is captured and taken to an invisible underwater kingdom, she has no idea what is in store for her. What are the mysterious Prince's intentions? What does Bella have to do with the solution of the kingdom's curse? _

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**A/N: _Hey Everyone! _**_Master of the A.U Fanfiction **inspired me to write this fanfiction. They sent me original idea for this story. With a few tweaks and further development, this story was born. Without her, this story would never have been written. This is something I would never have thought of without a prompt - I don't usually write stories this far away from what could have happened in the T.V show. I am happy with it and hope you enjoy reading it also. **_

**IMPORTANT: _This story can be read as a stand alone, but if you have read my other story H2O: A Fishy Tale some things will be easier to understand. This story is set between the first Fishy Tale and the Sequel. If you have not read A Fishy Tale, here are some things you should probably know:_**

_-The girls are 28  
-At the end of A Fishy Tale, the mermaids, with the help of their husbands and Bella inheriting millions from her deceased Great Aunt, they purchased Mako Island from the council if they promised to keep half the island open for the public. Naturally, the private half included the moon pool. The girls discovered how to mould water and gel it hard into houses...read the story for more detail.  
-Bella's son is Jacob (aged 4)  
-__Cleo has Jennifer (aged 4) and has Andrea (almost 1yr)  
-Emma has Eric (aged 3)and is pregnant.__  
-Rikki is in the early stages of pregnancy and has twins, Charlie and Leila (aged 4)  
-Anna [a OC Mermaid from Fishy Tale] has Daniel (aged 2)_

**_ If you have any further questions, feel free to mention them in a review or PM me. Please review! I appreciate them all. I'd like to see what you think about the idea! Now onto the story:_**

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**Chapter 1**

"No way." Bella whispered in disbelief, "I don't believe it." A tear escaped her eye, trickling down her cheek. "He can't be gone."  
"I'm sorry sweetheart," her mother said over the phone. Her own voice shook with emotion. She let her daughter go before she too burst into tears. Bella hung up. She was shaking her head and tears were streaming down her face.  
"He just can't be." She whispered again. She crumpled onto the couch. Bella heard a knock on the door. It opened.  
"Bella, I was wondering if you and Jake wanted to…" Cleo said as came inside. She took in her distraught friend huddled on the couch. She rushed over and put her arms around the shaking form. "Bella, What happened honey?" she said trying to comfort her.

"D-daddy passed away last night," another wrack of sobs shook her body. She buried her face in Cleo's neck. Cleo didn't know what to say. She knew how close Bella was with her father. Cleo wasn't aware that Bella's father had been sick, he was only in his late fifties – what had he died of? When Bella was in a better state of mind she would ask how– she thought it would be insensitive to ask now.

"I'm so sorry." Cleo said in sympathy. Why is this kind of comforting so hard? What else do you say? Twenty minutes later the person they had been awaiting walked through the door. Will took in his wife's red eyes and rushed to be at her side. Cleo untangled herself and left the comforting to Will, going into Jacob's room. The pre-schooler was just waking up from his slumber.

"Hi Jake, do you want to come swimming with Jennifer?" Cleo asked him.

The four year old nodded enthusiastically. "Is Mummy coming?" he asked politely.

"She's upset at the moment, Jake. But you can ask her." Cleo held his hand as they walked back into the living room.

"Mummy, can you come swimming with me and Auntie Cleo and Jenny?" Jacob asked. When his mother didn't respond he added, "Please?"

"I don't think…" Will began. He was interrupted by Bella.

"Why not!" She exclaimed, "Meet me down at the moon pool." A grin spread across Jacob's face. It faded as quickly as it came.

"Why are you crying Mummy?" he frowned.

"Grandpa passed away," Will said softly. Confusion was all over the little boy's face.

"He has gone away, Jakey" Bella said with watery eyes.

"Where to? Can you not just visit him?"

Why was death such a hard concept to explain to a child?

"Somewhere far away. We cannot go there for many years," Bella said.

"Why?" Jake began again but Cleo interrupted.

"Come on Jake, let's go to the moon pool." With this distraction, his mother was rescued.

"Will you be okay?" Will asked her.

"Yeah, I just need a long swim." Bella said. She stood on her tip toes and kissed him lovingly. "See you soon," With a smile she left the house.

Jacob, Rikki, her twin girls, Charlie and Leila, Cleo and her daughter, Jennifer were waiting for Bella.

"Let's go!"

After about half an hour of swimming, the four year olds became tired. Bella decided to continue swimming by herself while Rikki and Cleo took the kids back to their Mako Island Village. Now that no one else was around – specifically her son, she let all her grief out through swimming. With a cry of anguish she launched herself into turbo speed not caring where she went. She did not know how far she had swum or how long she had been gone for. She noticed she was very deep. She was all cried out. Cameron Hartley would always live on in her heart. With this she swam quickly to the surface – it took a while. She gasped for air – she had not realised her need while under the water. The half-moon was high in the sky. She must have been swimming for hours. She dove back under the water. Her mer-family would be wondering where she was. Her skin prickled; it felt like she was being watched.

OoOoO

"She will do quite nicely. Yes. Very well indeed." The merman said to himself before swimming away.

OoOoO

Out of what seemed like nowhere, three mermen armed with tridents ambushed the lone mermaid. She did not stand a chance. Each merman touched their tridents to each other's quickly creating an electric force field. Why the water itself did not become electrified was beyond Bella. It was futile. What on earth was going on? They swam forward taking her with them. The water in the distance, closer to the sea floor, shimmered. Suddenly, a kingdom appeared from nowhere. The first thing that grabbed her attention was a large glittering castle in the centre of what looked to be a city. It was made of a clear material. It dawned on her; it was made with gelled water – just like her own house back on Mako. Victorian style houses surrounded it. They were also made of water. Over the castle was a large bubble, reminiscent of a snow globe. It was a strange sensation when they passed through the bubble- it was like that was some resistance from it to let them through. A wave of sounds bombarded Bella's ears. How had she not noticed it when they entered the city? Mermen and mermaids were swimming around the streets chatting and going about their daily business. Bella marvelled at the stalls in the Bazaar – they were stacked stories high but opened onto the street because the mers just swam up to their doors. It certainly solved space problems. The castle was approaching. She was being taken inside and straight to the throne room. She noticed that the castle's architecture was like a Gothic Cathedral. Why there was a red carpet she didn't know – after all no mermaids walked. On the large throne at the end of the room a merman sat. His red tail had flecks of orange and gold scales and a band of gold encircled his head, contrasting brightly to his jet black hair. When the mermen with the tridents bowed deeply to him, I knew who he was – royalty.

"Dismissed." The merman said. The electric fence disappeared – I was free to move. "Now, who do we have here?" he asked with a smirk. She gasped as she realised – he had spoken. Underwater. She released her breath and took another. She was breathing clearly but she was in the water –she was swimming! The merman laughed at her expense. "It's called magic."

"But we don't usually breathe underwater do we?" she asked.

"No. As I said it is magic. Inside the shelter you came through, the barrier allows any mer here to breathe as if on the surface. This allows mers to establish kingdoms like this one. A civilised mermaid would know that." He said snidely. Bella was coming to intensely dislike this man.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I can ask whatever I please," there was a dangerous fire behind his eyes. "That is no way to address the future king of Arkaan. Who are you?"

"I don't even know who you are." Bella replied.

"My humblest apologies," he said mockingly, "I am Prince Azure, heir to the throne of Arkaan. Now, I ask again, what is your name?" she could tell beneath the joking façade, he was becoming very angry. She decided it would be unwise to anger him further.

"Bella." She replied.

"Bella." He repeated, rolling the name around on his lips. "A good name."

"Thanks for your approval, I guess," she muttered. Azure ignored this.

"And where do you hail from? I think we have established you do not belong to a kingdom...so which pod?"

"Pod?"

"Oh no, you're a hurmaid!" he laughed.

"A who-what?" she was sick of being laughed at.

"A half-blood! You're half human! Which pod does your mother or father come from?"

"I'm…my parents are both human…" Bella responded confused.

"A Morphe-maid! When did you change?"

"When I was nine…"

"And how old are you now?"

Bella did not want to answer but she had a feeling that this Prince was much colder than what he was letting on. His blue eyes were piercing and cold, a cruelty underlying them they could not be explained.

"I'm 28. Why does that matter?"

"You are of child-bearing age."

"And why on earth would that concern you?" she exclaimed.

"I mean to take you as my wife." He said bluntly.

**A/N: Review! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"What! I refuse. No way."

"I'm afraid you have no choice."

"Why? You have a whole kingdom of mermaids – why won't one of them do?" Bella was looking around for an escape route. There were too many guards. She wouldn't even make it fifty metres.

"Bella, let me tell you a story. Guard, yes, you, get my fiancé a chair!"

"Your fiancé? I'm already married!" a chair was brought which she promptly sat on.

"You can't be. You have no marriage bond."

"How do you know? See this ring?"

"Ah," he said with contempt. "You married a human. Sadly for you, you have not bonded with a merman. In my eyes you are not married and therefore in the eyes of the mer-community also." Bella tried to speak again. He put his hand up. "Now let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a warlock who had fallen deeply in love with a mermaid named Mara. They courted for many moons until he decided to ask her to marry him. Unknown to this warlock, his beloved mermaid was betrothed to merman King Vesuvius, the King of Arkaan. This warlock did not know his beloved had been sneaking away to see him. The night of his planned proposal, she was caught trying to escape Arkaan. She could not make their rendezvous. Vesuvius made her confess by threatening to harm her younger sister." Azure paused before continuing, "Vesuvius had heard of this warlock – he was a celebrity amongst the magical folk of the southern hemisphere. He knew that he had a wicked temper and decided to punish the mermaid for, as Vesuvius put it, her betrayal of mer-kind and her betrothal. He placed a truth spell over her. Mara pleaded with him but he sent her on her way. She arrived late at the rendezvous. Mara embraced and kissed her beloved. She knew it was to be the last time. 'Where were you?' the warlock asked. A tear trickled down her cheek. 'Please don't be angry.' She said pleadingly. 'What did you do?' he asked warningly. The truth spilled from her lips, each word striking a blow to his heart…" he trailed off. Bella raised an eyebrow. "I always did have a flair for the dramatic." Azure defended himself, "Anyway," he continued, "The warlock reacted in a jealous rage and cursed all mermaids from Arkaan forevermore – that is until a prophecy is fulfilled."

"What was the curse?" Bella asked.

"Infertility. You may have noticed that there were no children anywhere. Mara was granted one child and once that child reached their fifth birthday, all of Arkaan would be doomed to die out. Now that was thirty years ago and our kingdom is desperate for children and a new heir…"

"Wait – let me guess, you are the son of Vesuvius and Mara?" Bella said.

"You guess correctly. For some reason, we have not seen many mermaids swim by our kingdom in many years. This may be to do with the fact that we have many enemies. You will do. Not only are you fertile, but you are beautiful. Besides, it seems a prophecy points to you."

"How do you know I'm fertile? And how do you know I'm the one in the prophecy?"

"Thirty years shall pass,

and one shall come from the land of grass,

she shall end the barren life,

and set all past wrongs right." Azure recited.

"The land of grass? Really?" Bella said.

"What can I say – I didn't write it! Besides, you are the first mermaid we have captured to be a morphe-maid – from the land of grass. And by far the most satisfying to look at." Bella didn't know whether to blush or become annoyed at his flattery. He was reasonably attractive…Bella stopped herself thinking about that. She loved her husband. She did not know how she could live without Will, or even little Jakey.

"I still refuse." Bella said crossing her arms.

Azure chuckled darkly, "I don't think you will turn this offer down. You still don't know the full story."

"Then tell me the full story!" she exclaimed in frustration.

Azure clicked and a block of gelled water floated towards him, appearing from nowhere. Bella had a bad feeling about this. He gestured rapidly to a guard, who suddenly pulled a hair from her head quickly. She yelped in surprise. The block floated gently, yet ominously towards the guard who obediently placed the hair on the top surface. A small force field covered the hair so it would not float off as the block returned to its place at the right hand of Azure on the throne. A green light scanned over her hair. Bella thought all this was downright creepy.

"What on earth is going on?" she demanded. Azure held up his finger. With the said finger, he gestured her to come over. With an eye roll she swam cautiously towards him.

"This, is the Diamond of Vision." Azure declared proudly.

"But it's a square." Bella replied. Azure frowned.

"Please address it as," he put on a grand voice as he said, "the Diamond of Vision."

"But it's a foggy, gel-water square." She repeated in disbelief. She looked at Azure; he was staring devils at her. "Fine. An Unclear, gelatine cube with a pretty cool scanner."

"The Diamond of Vision!" he growled. Bella cowered at the fearsome, dark expression he was giving her.

"Okay then, Mr Grumpy Gills." She muttered. Azure growled again. This time he ignored her. He was increasingly becoming attracted to her rebuttal. After pressing the centre of the 'Diamond of Vision,' he said, "Show me this mermaid's family."

Suddenly, the square lit up and increased in size, becoming wider, rectangular, and reminiscent of a television screen. Firstly, it showed her mother crying, Ellie and Georgia (Bella's two younger sisters) comforting her, also with tears in their eyes.

Bella's eyes widened in shock – how did this cube know who her family was? Azure answered her unspoken question.

"Magic, my dear. It read and traced your DNA." The images on the square changed to reveal Jake sitting playing with a dolphin toy, looking very sad.

"Who is this, Bella?" Azure asked snidely.

"Jake." She whispered.

"Your son maybe?" Bella looked away. In the image, you could see the door open and a tall man with dirty blonde hair entered the room. He scooped up Jake and gave him a cuddle.

"Audio please." Azure told the Diamond of Vision. Bella smiled at the sight of the two men in her life together.

'_How are you feeling Jakey,' _Will asked his son. The audio sounded as if you were on a telephone.

'_I miss Mummy,"_ Jacob replied into his shirt. '_Where did she go?'_

_'I don't know Jake, but I'm sure she'll return soon.'_

_'She was upset about Grandpa going away, wasn't she?'_

Bella felt a lump in her throat.

'_She was.' _Will replied. '_She's just probably lost track of time.' _Will said trying to comfort both his son and himself.

'_Yes.' _Jacob seemed thoughtful, '_She will be back soon.'_

_'Ready to be tucked up?' _Will asked. As Will helped Jake into bed, Bella felt a tear trickle down her cheek.

An unwelcome voice invaded her thoughts.

"Is that your son and your human husband?" 'Human' was said in a spiteful tone. Bella did not answer.

"Perfect. Well, at least I know you are indeed fertile – that boy is proof. Tell me, is he a half-blood who has inherited merdom?" Bella nodded slowly.

"The Diamond of Vision only displays those in genetic relation who you have been in contact with recently. The fact that your human was in the frame is just a coincidence. Now that I know who your family is, you must agree to the marriage. If you do not go through with this, I will harm them all." There was a dangerous glint behind his eyes. Bella believed him.

"Will I ever be able to leave this kingdom?"

"Once you have carried a male heir to full term and given birth, after a year of nursing him, you are free to leave, but the mer-marriage bond is permanent."

"What if I don't have a son?"

"Then we keep trying until we do." Bella felt sick. She could not escape due to the guards and if she did not marry the Prince, he would harm her family. They would not stand a chance – mers could all control water. Azure probably control storms and nearby seas also. She was really in a predicament.

"Before you force me into this agreement, could I please attend my father's funeral tomorrow? And could I say goodbye to everyone?"

Azure seemed to be pondering her request. "If I let you, will you promise never to protest again?"

Bella nodded in resignation. Maybe there was a solution she would think up during her captivity.

"You may attend your father's funeral. You may not however communicate with your husband or son, or any other human." Bella opened her mouth to protest. He held up his hand again. "It is this or you do not go at all."

Another tear escaped as she nodded. "I agree."

"To make sure," Azure began. He held his sceptre to her throat and simply said, "Silence." Bella tried to talk but nothing came out. "You cannot communicate verbally until you return to this kingdom after the funeral. Only I can remove this spell from you." Bella glared at the Prince before gelling and hardening the water around his throat beginning to choke him. She held it there, tightening. She felt hatred she had never experienced before well up inside of her. The guards rushed at her and knocked her to the ground. The last thing she saw before she went unconscious was a guard breaking the gel off Azure's neck and the Prince breathing heavily with a scowl on his face.

**A/N: ****_Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I feel like I haven't conveyed to you the full gravity of Bella's situation. Pretty much it is 'Agree to this' or your family dies and you get locked away and are forced into it anyway. I hope it was easy to understand. I'm really enjoying writing this story._**

**_Thanks so much to everyone who have followed, made this story a favourite and reviewed. Reviews seriously make my day and its easier to do shoutouts._**

**_Thanks to the reviewers: _**_amazingaudrey0716, CrazyHayniac, Quillcox, __**and**__Guest (_please write a name so I can thank you properly) **Thanks again everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Again, Bella was in the trident force field being lead through the ocean. A guard commented that she should be lucky the Prince did not vaporise her on the spot. It was a weird sensation to be talked to underwater – once they left the enchanted kingdom, the mers communicated via 'mindspeak.' You talked straight into the other mers' minds. The guards taught about it, engaging in idle talk as they swum slowly back to the Gold Coast. She truly had swum a long way. It turned out mindspeak could only be used on other mers, and didn't have to just be underwater. Bella couldn't believe her luck- they obviously didn't think that she had other mer friends.

OoOoO

"I'm sure she's fine." Rikki said trying to encourage Will for the thousandth time. She wasn't doing a stellar job – her own voice was wrought with worry. Will just put his head in his hands. "Who am I kidding," Rikki muttered.

"Maybe she'll meet us at the funeral?" Cleo said hopefully. They were all going to support the family. They had all known Cameron Hartley and were just as shocked by his death.

A few hours later, all the residents on the island, minus Bella, made their way to the mainland and then drove to the funeral.

OoOoO

On a secluded beach near to where the funeral was being held, the guards watched from the water as Bella dried herself off and walked away from them. They had a magical seeing glass that would be showing them everything to happen.

'Remember, no funny business.' One of the guards spoke into her mind. Bella gave him a withering look. The two guards were actually in awe. They had never seen a morphe-maid transform before.

OoOoO

Will gasped in relief when he saw his wife approaching them. Before he could say anything, she kissed him fiercely and then hugged him tightly. A tear escaped her eye as she looked up at him. He wiped it away lovingly.

"Where've you been, baby?" Will asked her, stroking her cheek. Another tear escaped Bella's eye. She tapped her throat and shook her head. She made a writing action and paper was brought. However, as she tried to write an explanation, a force like a magnet was keeping her pen from the paper. Bella shook her head in frustration. She remembered she couldn't communicate a message to her family or any humans. She was thankful that her sisters were given testimony to her father's life – she wouldn't be able to say anything.

Jacob noticed his mother had arrived. Beaming, he ran to hug her. She lifted him up and kissed his cheek. As the funeral started, she took her place next to her mother and sisters. She squeezed her mother's hand for support.

"Why is it so sad here, Daddy?"

"Grandpa has gone away, remember?" Will replied. Jacob did not understand what was happening.

Bella stood with her mother, Ellie and Georgia as Ellie gave a speech on behalf of them, celebrating the late Cameron's life. There were plenty of tears as the ceremony continued. As the hearse drove away, Bella knew she didn't have much time left. Rikki was closest.

'_I don't have much time.' _Bella communicated using mindspeak. She hoped this was the loophole. Rikki looked startled. She turned around and locked eyes with Bella.

"Did you say something." She asked.

'_Yes. Don't say anything more about loud. Look away. I'm being watched.'_

She sent her a questioning look before dipping her head and looking away. How was she hearing things without Bella's mouth moving?

Bella answered her question; '_This is called mindspeak – mermaids can use it to communicate via mind. It's especially useful while swimming. Reply by focusing on what you want to say into my mind.'_

A few seconds passed. '_Can you hear me?'_

_'Yes!' _Bella exclaimed her first smile since her reunion with Will and Jake lit up her face.

'_What's going on?'_

_'I know everyone's wondering what happened to me. I got kidnapped by a merman.'_

Bella could hear Rikki's laughter at how ridiculous that sounded.

'_No truly, I was grieving, as you know, and I just swam and swam. After I went up for air some random mermen with tridents kidnapped me taking me to an invisible underwater kingdom called Arkaan.'_

_'Sounds like something out of a bad fantasy novel,' _Rikki commented.

'_The kingdom has a curse of infertility and only a mermaid from outside of the kingdom can breed, and they don't get many visitors.'_

_'Probably because their kingdom is invisible!' _Rikki interrupted.

'_The Prince needs an heir and apparently I'm the one in a prophecy…'_

_'I don't like where this is going…'_

_'The Prince has demanded I marry him and give him an heir…'_

_'Oh God! But you're already married? Did you run away and that's why you're here?'_

Rikki felt Bella's sadness flood her mind, '_I wish.'_

_'What happened?'_

_'I told him I'm married but apparently marrying a human doesn't count! I had to agree to save you guys from certain doom – he's not a very nice prince. He has tonnes of magic and can track anyone genetically related to me. I don't know what to do. He has his guards spying on me right now by magic. I'm not allowed to communicate with any human or family member – or anyone verbally. I found a loophole, thank God. Apparently, we are 'morphe-maids' and there are different types of mermaid. I had never thought about it before. Anyway, I don't have much time – he has only let me go for the funeral and I'll be called back soon – he cast some spells on me and we destroy those I love if I don't return.'_

"Rikki? Are you alright?" Zane asked her. She had been staring into space for a few minutes now.

"Oh yes, I'm fine." She replied, "Just thinking about some important things."

'_Sorry Bella,' _Rikki said.

'_It's fine. Back at the island, make sure to tell the others, especially Will. You can't talk to him around Jake though. Jake is being monitored and I can't compromise the situation. Call work for me and make up some excuse.'_

_'Do you know how long you'll be gone?'_

_'Unless you can figure out a way to break the curse, I'll be married to Prince Azure and I have to stay there for years until a son I have is a year old.'_

_'Years?' _Rikki asked.

'_Well, at least it's not forever.' _Bella replied.

'_But marriage?'_

_'Apparently the bond is permanent.'_

_'Postpone it for as long as possible. I'll try figure out something.'_

_'I wish you the best of luck but I honestly doubt it.' _Bella replied. She felt Rikki's determination. _'Say something as if I haven't been talking to you. I'll miss you all.'_

Rikki did this and then the two friends embraced. Bella found all of her friends and hugged them. They didn't know why but welcomed it anyway. She hugged her mother and sisters and then found Will and Jake. She hugged Jake tightly and peppered him with kisses. He giggled. She then kissed her husband passionately before embracing him, holding on for dear life. She didn't know when she'd be able to again.

After giving him another kiss, she began to walk away. She knew her time was up. Her family, friends and beloved watched her walking into the distance with confused expressions on the faces. Rikki was the only one who knew.

OoOoO

The guards escorted her back to Arkaan complimenting her on dealing with the situation so well. They hadn't noticed her mind conversation with Rikki.

As they swam into the depths, Bella longed for there to be hope in this situation. Her life had been turned in an instant and she couldn't find anything to do about it.

* * *

**A/N: _Here is Chapter 3! Did you enjoy it? I hope so. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to write it! I think it didn't help that I was singing along to Ariana Grande while writing :P_**

**_Thanks so much for all the positive reviews! They mean a lot. _**

**_Thanks to _**_luci-lucy, mermaid from mako island, CrazyHayniac, mermaidsforever, **and ** Trackjunkie88 **for reviewing the last chapter!**_


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